Ed Mahfouz the Liberal candidate didn't make it to the CBC studio today for the roundtable discussion with Nepean-Carleton candidates. Similarly he was a no-show on Sunday night when the Nepean-Carleton candidates were in the CFRA studio to discuss the issues. He was able to phone in for part of the CFRA show but then apparently had a fundraiser to go to. Perhaps he is too busy boning up on his new party's policies to actually field questions from reporters. The Citizen editorial board last week grilled him repeatedly about his two failed Conservative nomination bids.

From the Ottawa Sun:

Green Party candidates are hitting the streets this week to bring attention to Ottawa's transit woes, trying to convince voters their party has the best plan to reduce the city's traffic nightmares. "We thought it might be a neat time to remind voters we think we've got the best plans for supporting a green city," said Lori Gadzala, the Green Party candidate in Nepean-Carleton. "

Ottawa, Sept. 22 — Ottawa Greens are taking to the city’s clogged roadways this week to make a point — that their party has the best plan for reducing the city’s traffic jams.

Every morning during rush hour this week, Ottawa-area Green candidates and their supporters will be positioned at key intersections, waving homemade placards with tongue-in-cheek slogans that have a serious message: Ottawa urgently needs upgraded transit, and the Greens are best positioned to fix the problem.

The Green Party's election platform is released:

"The plan, fully costed by an independent economist, focuses on the Green Tax Shift, which will use money from taxes on greenhouse gas emissions and toxic pollutants – the things we don’t want – and use the money to support what we do want, such as good jobs, tax cuts for individuals and businesses, poverty reduction, and measures to help companies lead Canada into the post-carbon economy.

Listen to 580 CFRA Sunday from 5-7pm, as Professor Gerry Cammie features the candidates from Nepean-Carleton. Callers can phone in with their questions for the candidates starting at 5:55pm. Call early at 613-521-8255

I wrote this article for the Packet late in July, even before Stephen Harper announced that he was giving GM a free pass on the $30M they owe Canadian taxpayers, and doling out another $80M to Ford in Windsor.
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The Government is burning your money on bad investments

You may be shocked to learn that the Conservatives are getting the hang of blowing your tax dollars just as easily as the Liberals.

I wrote this in August for the Packet, a community newspaper reaching 25,000 homes in South Ottawa. I'll write soon about the difference between the proposed Liberal Green shift and ours. Natually, they didn't get it right :)
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Taxes are a dirty word in politics. No politician worth their salt even says the word unless taxes are going down. Even when taxes are supposedly staying the same it’s risky. Look what happened to Brian Mulroney and the Conservatives when they introduced the GST.

I wrote this in May for the Packet after the MAPLE reactors were cancelled. The Green Party is calling for and end to subsidies--totalling $150 million a year--to the nuclear industry.
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Election fever is in the air, and so is the beautiful autumn harvest. Please bring a vegetable to add to our "stone soup" as we share soup and freshly baked bread and listen to:

Susan Walsh, USC Canada, speak of the Seeds of Survival proagram; and

Storytelling, Singing, and Puppetry.

Meet your Green Party Candidate Lori Gadzala. Bid on silent auction items with a harvest theme.

Families welcome. $20 suggested donation

rsvp gkubanek@storm.ca

Re: Retail expansion is good for our village, March 4.

Letter-writer Jerry Belanger, a retail-leasing specialist, may be a teensy bit biased about real estate development for Manotick. He states that a 2003 survey found that 40 per cent of respondents believed there were not enough retail stores in Manotick. Presumably the other 60 per cent felt differently.